Creative Thinking: Through Vibrant Materials

Abstract

Creative Thinking: Through Vibrant Materials investigates how to bridge the gap between cognitive science, humanities and creative thinking through materials. Research explores creativity as new knowledge, guided by the power of haptic surfaces, searching for something new through repetition. The poised question is: What happens within a moment of losing a sense of self in art-making?

The hypothesis is that concepts of philosophy and the function of art can create specific aesthetic figures of colour, line, texture, and forms through materiality. The tacit skills play a crucial role for the artist to know when to resist and surrender to the materials. Bridging the gap between philosophy and practice allows aesthetic figures to emerge effortlessly, taking the path of least resistance. These figures are not of beauty per se; they translate thoughts without images, although not as conventional shapes known in advance, but instead as blocks of haptic sensation.

This enquiry formulated a research problem of 'thought without image' – thinking that goes beyond recognition and originates in practice. The study has been to understand and create connections between Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's concepts thoughts without images, Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology, John Dewey's aesthetics, and the Taoist concept of Wu Wei and its connections to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's mindset of flow. The overall study focuses on how Csikszentmihalyi states of flow can condition creative thinking. The research illustrates that creative thinking is shaped by social, cultural, and philosophical influences. It also shows that the eyes are neither cameras nor windows and instead interpret meaning based on past experiences.